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hi what and wich life forms can i raise (as cattle) to feed octopus that is

octo8

Hatchling
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Jan 19, 2021
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quebec city canada
HI , im Octo
i read that octopus prefer live food . ok
i could add another aquarium to raise some life form , aquatic fish crab or criquets or worms .
the question is what does it like and WICH LIFE FORM(FOOD FOR OCTOPUS) IS EFFECTIVE PRODUCER, MULTIPLY EASILY GROWS FAST SO THAT IT IS WORTH IT.

anyone tried to raise life food for octopus?

tx
 
Hi! In my 12 years of octopus keeping, I have not tried to grow out live food for them. I’ve always been successful with a combination of live hermit crabs and a variety of frozen foods- shrimp, crab, scallops. They do not need to be fed live foods exclusively, and many keepers find that after being in captivity they stop eating live foods altogether.

All that said- there’s no reason why you couldn’t try breeding shrimp. I’ve never tried it, but that would be my first choice of those things you’ve mentioned. Worms and crickets are not food choices for octopuses. I don’t know of anyone who has raised crabs in captivity- not saying it can’t be done- but they go through a pelagic phase after hatching out. You wouldn’t save any money doing that- and probably more than just buying live.

It was suggested to me that I could try to raise black mollies (saltwater) to feed out to large egged babies as a starter food because they would make an easy prey item.
But in the long run- to answer the question “Is it worth it?” No. There’s nothing that you can grow out- in the same tank as an octopus- that fits all of your criteria. You’d need to start a separate tank to raise foods, and at that point the cost doesn’t outweigh the benefits, especially if you’re only doing it for one animal with a short lifespan. It might be cost effective if you’re feeding multiple animals (aggressives in other tanks), but not for one octopus that is happy eating hermit crabs and frozen shrimp.
 
Hi when i was saying raising farming life forms it was in another ank container of course.
could you give me an idea of the cost of those things people feed them like crab shrimps and such .
do they buy this live at petshop? just to see by month how much it would cost for a small octopus(not giant specie.)
I dont even buy myself scallops so i dont think i will buy some for the futur octopus lol .

Maybe someone raised snails in a container?
 
Hi when i was saying raising farming life forms it was in another ank container of course.
could you give me an idea of the cost of those things people feed them like crab shrimps and such .
do they buy this live at petshop? just to see by month how much it would cost for a small octopus(not giant specie.)
I dont even buy myself scallops so i dont think i will buy some for the futur octopus lol .

Maybe someone raised snails in a container?
The live foods I use are hermit crabs, which are about $1 each. I also keep fiddler crabs in separate tank to feed out, which are are cheap but then there’s shipping. I’ve provided a link to my favorite source below. But, I don’t live where you do- so I have NO IDEA what these things cost where you are.

The other foods I mentioned I buy from the seafood section at my market’s meat counter. The rule of thumb for how much to feed is piece of food that is the same size as THE SPACE BETWEEN THEIR EYES- so that’s not very big. One scallop from the meat counter turns out to be several meals, depending on the size of your octopus. One big shrimp from the meat counter can feed an octopus for two weeks!

My octopuses have never eaten the snails in their tanks. I wouldn’t bother trying that because I don’t know that your octopus will eat that. Also, no freshwater foods for octopuses. I grow out Rams horn snails for my freshwater predators, but I’d never feed them to an octopus.

I can’t stress enough that you DO NOT have to feed live foods exclusively! After a couple of months all of the octopuses I’ve had ended up preferring to be stick fed frozen foods. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is a great place to get both saltwater ghost shrimp- which quite possibly are a good choice to try to raise at home, and fiddler crabs.

You’ll have to do your own research about raising ghost shrimp.

They also sell fiddler crabs which can’t be raised in captivity (very specific requirements after hatching out). I take the pincers off to feed to my puffers, then give the rest of the crab to my octopuses.
 
None of them are particularly easy, especially on a small scale.

Lysmata spp have had the most success, but its work and they tent to settle around 50 days after hatching. Mostly breeding any kind of shrimp is difficult on a small scale, especially if you want regularity. Large scale is different - get a ton fo shrimp, stuck them in ponds and let nature take its course. Fresh and Saltwater 'ghost' shrimp are raised in big ponds, as are some kinds of food shrimp.

Here are some small scale links:

Breeding Journal, Species: <Lysmata boggessi>
http://www.tcmas.org/forums/showthread.php?p=331134#post331134
Behavior And Breeding Of Peppermint Shrimp

Other options include amphipods, mostly gammarus, should be collectable along any ocean shore in the world - you just have to poke around to and see if you can find them in enough numbers and the right size. Gammarus are also available commercially, at least in the states and Europe.

Fish are also a possibility. Poecilia sp (guppies, mollies and sailfin mollies) can be acclimated to salt water with various degrees of success, and their gut loaded fry can be used to feed cuttles, though I don't know anyone that has used them as a sole food source. Again you run into the problems of ease and scale - you can't just grab a couple of pair and generate enough fry to feed out on a regular basis. http://www.guppies.com/forums/showthread.php/33610-Marine-Guppies-(Full-Saltwater)

The major issue of breeding food for cephs yourself is the scale needed to make it reliable. One rule of thumb (and I don't really like these rules of thumb) is that you will need 4 times the water volume of the animal you are trying to feed to raise the feed animals. Essentially, you get into the food raising business which can be very time and resource consuming.

I think thats all the tricks I have. Feeding any marine animal offspring is the major stumbling block in any marine species breeding, so know that we are not alone in the ceph world with this issue.

All that said, I hope you or we find a simple, practical solution to this problem.
 

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